May 18, 2009
you had to be there
I would suggest that there is a sub-genre of movie that could be described as "beloved child classic." This designation means that if you see the movie as a child, you will no doubt love it and and quote it endlessly, and then later on in your life you will hear someone mention it and you will breathlessly exclaim, "Oh yeah! That movie is a classic! The part with that thing at the place! Hilarious!" Meanwhile, people who saw the movie in their late teens or twenties will wonder why you think the movie is of any redeemable value and will begin to question why they spend time with you.
Sometimes these movies are perfectly fine "family" movies that could be enjoyed by anyone regardless of age, but will not hold up as well as one ages. Examples: The Goonies (I saw this for the first time when I was 16. Not too impressed), The Princess Bride (I saw this when I was ten; I liked it, but not that much), The Neverending Story (I saw this quite young, and loved it. You couldn't pay me to watch it now), Flight of the Navigator (this one actually scared the hell out of me when I was young, but it wasn't that good), Short Circuit (I saw this as a kid and then much later. It sucked), etc...
Then there are the obviously crappy movies that could have only seemed great back when our minds were much simpler. These movies are the ones that the 80's nostalgists will go on about endlessly and will sometimes purchase commemorative TV shirts of. Crappy cartoons (Thundercats, Strawberry Shortcake, Transformers), crappy comedies (Police Academy, Ummm, Revenge of the Nerds), and crappy teen movies (Teen Wolf, The Secret of My Success, Teen Wolf Two, Mac and Me?) will always be crap no matter how much fun you had watching them over summer break with your cousins from Michigan.
Sometimes even really awesome movies that seem to be timeless when they come out can, on second look, turn to crap. I watched Terminator 2 a while back after not having seen it for many years and boy did I not enjoy certain aspects of that movie. The whole thing where Arnold is a killing robot that exists to blow people's skulls open, yet he sensitively asks Edward Furlong why humans cry and then gives young John Connor a thumbs up as he is lowered into the molten metal? Lame. Arnold is not E.T., he is a merciless instrument of destruction from the future. Duh.
Here are the movies I saw as a child and still enjoy:
1. Ghostbusters (AMAZING TO THIS DAY. WHO ARE YOU GOING TO CALL INDEED, SIR.)
2. The Blues Brothers (I just picked this jem up at Walmart for five bucks. That's like 45 crashed cop cars per dollar!)
3. Indiana Jones Movies (Does not include the new one with Shia Lebouf swinging from vines like Tarzan.)
4. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (There are so many things wrong with this movie--mostly Christian Slater--but also so much right with it--mostly Alan Rickman.)
Sometimes these movies are perfectly fine "family" movies that could be enjoyed by anyone regardless of age, but will not hold up as well as one ages. Examples: The Goonies (I saw this for the first time when I was 16. Not too impressed), The Princess Bride (I saw this when I was ten; I liked it, but not that much), The Neverending Story (I saw this quite young, and loved it. You couldn't pay me to watch it now), Flight of the Navigator (this one actually scared the hell out of me when I was young, but it wasn't that good), Short Circuit (I saw this as a kid and then much later. It sucked), etc...
Then there are the obviously crappy movies that could have only seemed great back when our minds were much simpler. These movies are the ones that the 80's nostalgists will go on about endlessly and will sometimes purchase commemorative TV shirts of. Crappy cartoons (Thundercats, Strawberry Shortcake, Transformers), crappy comedies (Police Academy, Ummm, Revenge of the Nerds), and crappy teen movies (Teen Wolf, The Secret of My Success, Teen Wolf Two, Mac and Me?) will always be crap no matter how much fun you had watching them over summer break with your cousins from Michigan.
Sometimes even really awesome movies that seem to be timeless when they come out can, on second look, turn to crap. I watched Terminator 2 a while back after not having seen it for many years and boy did I not enjoy certain aspects of that movie. The whole thing where Arnold is a killing robot that exists to blow people's skulls open, yet he sensitively asks Edward Furlong why humans cry and then gives young John Connor a thumbs up as he is lowered into the molten metal? Lame. Arnold is not E.T., he is a merciless instrument of destruction from the future. Duh.
Here are the movies I saw as a child and still enjoy:
1. Ghostbusters (AMAZING TO THIS DAY. WHO ARE YOU GOING TO CALL INDEED, SIR.)
2. The Blues Brothers (I just picked this jem up at Walmart for five bucks. That's like 45 crashed cop cars per dollar!)
3. Indiana Jones Movies (Does not include the new one with Shia Lebouf swinging from vines like Tarzan.)
4. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (There are so many things wrong with this movie--mostly Christian Slater--but also so much right with it--mostly Alan Rickman.)
Labels: empty nostalgia, films
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